Recently I observed a news picture with workers cleaning up the oil spill in the gulf with gloves on their hands. Apparently the understanding is that chemicals in crude oil can be a health hazard. One summer when I was in college, I worked on a tank farm next to an oil refinery. At the bottom of those giant tanks full of crude oil was a small faucet like we find for water in our yard. The main purpose was to enable inspectors to get a sample of the oil in the tank. Frequently, when we would get our hands dirty with grease or other substances, it was a common practice to drive our pick up over to a tank, turn on the faucet and wash our hands in crude oil and then dry them with a cloth. Crude oil is a great solvent and we would even do it prior to eating. Today I do not believe I suffer any long-term health problems from that practice.

God really has a lot of control of our lives. God may have protected me from washing my hands in crude oil. I am hesitant to give physical advice even though I am in better physical condition than any time in my life, including when I was in college. I do not know how much of my physical conditioning is a result of exercise and good eating and how much is a result of God's help. Jesus mentions that we "cannot make even one hair white or black" Mt 5:36 (NI). For people who don't believe in God and think it is all in your genes or inherited, my father had solid white hair starting when he was many years younger than my present age and my hair is still dark. Yes you can help improve your body but then you meet very intelligent people who live in a very healthy manner and yet develop terminal problems. Better to just trust God's guidance. Need to live like you will live to 120 (Ge 6:3) while being ready to die at any time.

To refresh what you have learned in our Workshop or entice you to experience our Workshop

God stated in Genesis 2:24 and Jesus quoted it in Mark 10:8 (NIV) that when two people get married "…the two will become one…". Functioning as one and being a team of two that works together is one of the main things we help people accomplish in our workshop. From God's viewpoint, it appears He treats married couples as one. In the story of Job, Satan was not allowed to kill Job and all of his family members were destroyed but not his wife (Job 1-2:9). To become one spiritually, it is good for a couple to talk about their spiritual views. If you have different views it is good to discuss them and may be a good time to use the Speaker Listener Technique. Unlike most discussions in your marriage, just because you as a couple agree doesn't make it correct before God. It is good to support your opinions with what Jesus or God said. It is good for you to have family prayers together, worship God together in the same church, and even share a ministry together. That may sound heavy but I knew a couple who had no children and had been married over twenty years who helped in the nursery together in a large church. That was a nice way to share a ministry together.

The Better Half "When your partner won't support your efforts to make your marriage better" Without your spouse's support to improve your marriage, you can still pray daily for God's will to be done in each of your lives and your marriage ("all things are possible with God", Mark 10:27 NIV). From God's viewpoint it appears He treats married couples as one. In the story of Job, Satan was not allowed to hurt Job and all of his family members were destroyed but not his wife, who did not appear to be a supportive spouse. For you to function as one as a couple does require both of you to make an effort. You should develop your personal relationship with God, as that is an individual thing. In addition to praying for your spouse and encouraging them to be closer to God you can live your life as a good example. It may be hard to encourage your spouse to get closer to God, if you do not set a godly example.

A Psalm for reflection "I obey Your commands and Your instructions; You see everything I do." Ps 119:168

Understanding the Teaching: What I share in the teaching is what I believe God wants me to share. All the direct quotes from God are highlighted in royal purple. Of course the words of Jesus are in red. Rather than follow some made up doctrine, remember that Jesus said that every thing He said (Jn 12:49) and everything He did (Jn 14:31) comes from God. All teachings and all opinions should be supported by what we learn from God or Jesus (see the scripture referred to in the footnote).

Success has many different standards. As our country celebrates its independence, we remember military success over a foreign government making our independence possible. This year Independence Day falls on the first day of the week, the day Jesus, who successfully set us free from bondage to sin, rose from the dead. In the world of business, people measure success by promotions and by making more money. Overall in our society, success is often measured by increased power and/or more money. Often, Christians involved in serving God treat success in a similar manner. They may seek more powerful positions in their organization's hierarchy both in paid and non-paid capacities. Some churches measure success by their attendance or number of baptisms or size of their building, etc. One local church had a very charming minister and they were growing very fast and built a very large building. Their minister retired and today the sign out front implies it is an Event Center available for rent and that the church happens to meet there. In my younger days as a Christian, I was convinced that the number of people was the most important factor and was able to write a book about a church that has several hundred thousand come to services every week as I worked and learned with Pastors in that church. People's standards and society's standards are not always God's standards.

The ultimate measure of success in God's eyes is quite simple determined by our eternal destination. Very simply put, if we go to heaven we are successful and if we go to hell we are not successful. Please don't feel unusual if that is not a concern. Most people could care less where they go when they die, which is probably related to Jesus comment that very "few" will go to heaven4. Some churches think going to heaven in can be as simple as following the teachings of that church or other churches believe everyone will go to heaven because Jesus died on the cross or as a result of God's grace. Other Christians make it so difficult to go to heaven that it is uncertain if even they themselves can make it to heaven. Some Christians follow what Paul wrote, that "if you confess with your mouth, ' Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" Jesus almost appears to know prophetically that people would prefer to follow Paul as He tells us, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven"1. Doing God's will is obeying God. Many consider the statement Jesus made to "go and make followers" and spend their whole life making followers. Others focus on "I was hungry, and you gave me food" and devote their whole life on feeding people. Others use similar statements and spend their lives providing shelter or having a prison ministry, etc. Some read what Jesus said about healing and devote their whole ministry to praying for healing2. If one of these is what God tells you to do, then do it! If you decided your focus without God's input, you may want to reconsider. God may consider all of the statements as being part of being obedient to Him.

A child has many rules in their life. If a child told their parents that they would obey by not running in the house but would play basket ball in the house or would obey by not playing in the flower beds but would play in the street or would not eat in bed but would go to bed when they felt like it, most people would not call that child very obedient. Do we tell God we will not kill or lie but we plan on committing adultery and stealing? Do we tell God we will love our neighbor but not our enemies? Do we tell God we will cast out demons but not pray for people's healings? Do we tell God we will visit people in prisons but will not help them find food when they get out? Can we say we obey God5 and then pick and choose what we want to obey? Obviously not! To be successful obeying God we need to obey Him 100%. Jesus was the most successful person to ever live as He stated that He said only what God told Him to "say" and He did what God told Him to "do"7. One statement God made concerning Jesus was6, "This is my Son , whom I love. Listen to him!" A first step is to listen to Jesus and Jesus does a great job of helping us know what His Father wants, which can make it easier to obey God. Following Jesus will lead you to God.

Let's pray "God thank you for drawing us to Jesus. Strengthen us to follow everything You teach and everything You told Jesus to teach. Help us to obey You in everything, 100%. Keep us from being tempted to pick and choose what we want to obey. Thank You for Your help, in Jesus name, amen."

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